I attended the Cybersecurity Summit in Atlanta because I wanted to learn more about my niche in marketing messaging: Cybersecurity firms. My clients in this space never complain that I am outside their industry. It’s actually the opposite – they all assure me that being an outsider is extremely helpful to our working relationship.
Which brings me back to the Cybersecurity Summit:
1. TTGL – Things To Google Later
What I noticed: I sat in the main session and within one minute of the talk, had to pull out my phone to Google an acronym. As the talk went on, there were so many that I couldn’t keep up, and instead started typing a note of “Things to Google Later.”
I assumed most audience members were industry experts and likely understood everything the speaker said. But when I joked about it with the gentleman next to me at lunch, he shared that he had an identical experience. He’s new to leading a team of cybersecurity experts but isn’t a subject matter expert (SME) himself. He came to the Summit to learn and was quickly overwhelmed by the insider language.
What I’d recommend: Always define what you’re saying. A quick pause to make sure everyone is on the same page with the terms and abbreviations you’re using will eliminate potential confusion and build your authority. When you take a moment to ensure everyone is following, you build trust with the audience. You show them it’s okay if they don’t understand because you’ve got the answers and are happy to share them. This applies to presentations, sell sheets, booth banners, and any marketing material you create.
Plus, it’s important to know if we’re talking about ROI (Return on Investment) or ROI (Risk of Incarceration) with this crowd.
2. This is a collaborative community.
What I noticed: The spirit of collaboration was very clear during the panel discussion on Cloud Security. It may be that I come from the marketing world, where someone is always elbowing others out of the way to get the spotlight. But in the panel, I noticed how the speakers – from different organizations and positions – deferred and asked each other questions. They kept saying, “If you’re not sure what to do, just ask one of us or someone you meet today.” It appears that this cybersecurity world is so big and diverse that you couldn’t possibly master every aspect of it. There are too many risks, too many solutions for mitigating those risks and too many approaches for one person to be the guru. So instead, they build relationships and share experiences, expertise and war stories.
What I recommend: We should all be more like this group. In a room of cybersecurity experts, it’s clear that everyone is on the same figurative team of good guys working against the “bad actors” and other threats to their data and businesses. I’m so encouraged by this collaborative attitude, and hopeful that more industries will follow suit.
3. Most everyone sounds the same
What I noticed: Look, this might feel like I’m about to tell you your baby’s ugly. But the reality is, as an outsider walking through the vendor booth area, everything sounded the same. Dedicated. Cloud. Risk Mitigation. Comprehensive. Governance. Transformation. I noticed I got overwhelmed just trying to figure out what each vendor did. I started to choose which booths to stop at based on the colors in their branding. Yikes.
What I recommend: My industry (B2B marketing) makes this mistake all the time, so I’m going to let you in on a secret: Don’t copy from anyone else’s paper. Yes, you need to understand the competition and alternatives your ideal buyer is considering. But saying the same things as your competitors will not help you stand out. Dig deep and ask your customers why they chose you. Ask your teammates why they’re not working for the competition instead. Find out what makes your organization unique, and then thoughtfully position your messaging and your branding to chase that storyline. The last thing you want is someone making a million-dollar purchase decision based on the colors in your logo. You’re so much more than that. So tell them.
I left the ballroom after a long day of lanyard-wearing excited about the future and with a few new brain worms – Can we talk about AI hallucinations?? Ok, later. I’m excited about all of the opportunities that are right in front of these innovative businesses, driven by people who sincerely care about the people they serve and the work that they do to make the world a better, safer and cooler place.
Thanks for letting me be a fly on the wall.
Katie Lantukh
Cybersecuritywriter.co
